The Government on Monday condemned the “unwarranted” statement by Pakistan on Gujarat elections and asked it to stop giving sermons to India. It said the neighbouring country seemed to be aimed at bailing out the Congress and asserted Indians were capable of contesting elections in the country’s democracy on their own.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Today a very curious statement has been released by Pakistan foreign office condemning Pakistan being dragged into India’s election and stated that Indians must learn to fight the elections on their own. Yes, I wish to tell Pakistan that Indians are capable of contesting India’s democracy on their own as they do... India’s Prime Minister is a popularly elected PM and so is the BJP.”
India, he said, “completely abhors any outside interference in India’s electoral affairs.” The role of Pakistan in promoting terrorism in India is too well known in the entire world and Pakistan. “Please stop giving us lessons. We are proud of India’s democracy,” he said.
“We are very productive of India’s democracy and totally condemn this unwarranted statement from Pakistan,” he said. Prasad said it was “curious” that Congress leader Anand Sharma had denied any meeting taking place at the residence of Aiyar.
“And in today’s newspapers...It is very evident as to who attended the meeting, including from Pakistan and even Manmohan Singh went there in the get together,” he said. “Why a wrong statement was made by Anand Sharma completely denying that no such meeting took place.”
“Now it is whose turn to apologise? But what is curious is that this happens and Pakistan comes out with an official statement. In many ways seeking to bail out Congress party. Is it too suspicious? Surely, the country will draw its own conclusion,” he added.
Another BJP leader and Union Minister Subhash Bhamre also asked Pakistan to keep to herself saying, “We know our strength, we do not need any advise.”
Prasad’s riposte came after Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal tweeted:”India should stop dragging Pakistan into its electoral debate and win victories on own strength rather than fabricated conspiracies, which are utterly baseless and irresponsible”.
The comment from Islamabad followed a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public rally in Palanpur in Gujarat talked about a purported secret meeting held at suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s home and attended by the Pakistani High Commissioner, an ex-Pakistani Foreign Minister, a former Vice-President of India and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
This meeting, Modi claimed, happened a day before Aiyar called him “neech” (low) which set off BJP to claim that Aiyar sought to insult the Prime Minister and all those belonging to backward castes. Subse-quently, Congress President elect Rahul Gandhi asked Aiyar to apologise and later suspended him from the primary membership of the party. Rahul said Aiyar’s speak does not reflect the Congress culture.